Skylanders 4 Golden
by Snafu-no-Duragon
Summary: Spyro the Dragon, a high schooler, moved to the Skylands from his original home in Avalar. Now he will be living with his uncle, Ignitus, and his cousin, Ember. He's also gonna be a transfer student at Skylanders Academy. However, since he moved there, strange murders start to occur...
1. Chapter 1

"Spyro,_ are you serious about leaving?" Elora asks him, still sad by the fact that he's going to move out of Avalar._

_"This classroom's gonna feel empty without you." Bianca said as she slowly touches the classroom's wall._

_"There must be another way to tell your parents that you wanna stay here, right?" Hunter suddenly enters the class, not wanting the dragon to go just like the others._

_*Sigh* "Sorry, guys... But I can't. My dad thinks that Skylanders Academy is a more prestigous one than Avalar, but I still don't want to leave you guys..." The purple dragon answers them, looking down. "I even heard that Skylands is smaller than Avalar... That's also one of the reasons to why I want to study here instead."_

* * *

A sad expression starts to form on the dragon's face. Although the other passengers are amazed about the flying train that they're on, all that Spyro is thinking is his friends. They've been best friends since 10 years, and now he's forced to leave them?

"This is the worst day ever..." He said to himself as he look out at the sky through the window next to him.

* * *

_Spyro walks out of the school, still wearing his Avalar Academy handbag. He turns around to look at the building 1 more time before going far away from it._

_..._

_"Spyro! Wait!"_

_A violet dragoness runs out from the building, quickly approaching Spyro. "Don't leave me here! I want to be with you!" She hugs him, crying uncontrollably. "Don't go!"_

_"Cynthia..." He pats her head, wanting her to calm down. "It's okay, we'll meet again soon..."_

* * *

He takes out a piece of paper from his handbag and unfolds it, revealing a photo of him and Cynthia when they were 3 years old. The 2 of them are seen running around, chasing each other. Unlike all the others, Cynthia is the bestest friend that he could have. For him, losing her is just like losing the whole world.

"You were so fast back then, I can't even catch you." He lets out a small chuckle.

* * *

_"Promise me, that wherever you are, whenever the time is, you will always remember me."_

_"Promise me, Spyro."_

_..._

_"I promise."_

* * *

Suddenly, the purple dragon realizes that he's not on the train anymore. Instead, he's inside a limousine, with a white - cyan dragon in front of him, probably a little bit older than himself. Next to the dragon is an old woman, holding a brown covered book and wearing a black sorceress outfit.

He tries to talk, but somehow his body tells him to don't do anything and just listen.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." The dragon starts speaking. "This room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."

...

"And it seems that we have a guest with an intriguing destiny this time..." *Chuckle* He continues his last sentence. "I am the Chronicler, and I'm delighted to make your acquaintance." He grins sinisterly. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"I'm..." Spyro said to him. "Spyro. Spyro the Dragon."

"Hm... I see..." *Chuckle* "Now, let's see in to your future, shall we?" Suddenly, a deck of cards appears on the table in front of him. Then, one of the card flips by itself, revealing an image of a tower struck by a lightning. "It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent... The card indicating the future beyond that is..." Another card flips, and reveals an image of a moon. "Hesitation and mystery... Interesting indeed. It seems that you will encounter misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you. In the coming days, you will enter a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests so that kind of thing never happens." The deck of cards the vanish. "Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you." The dragon turns his head around and faces the woman. "This is Kaossandra. She is a resident of this place, just like myself."

The woman smiles at Spyro, making him feel uneasy. "My name is Kaossandra. I am here to accompany you through your journey."

"We shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell..." The Chronicler said to him as the purple dragon's body start to fade.

* * *

_We have arrived at Skylands station._

Spyro wakes up, realizing that he was fast asleep all that time. "Skylands? Wait, that's my destination!" In hurry he stands up from the seat and gets out of the train. "Okay, be friendly to your uncle, Spyro. Try to look like you're not saddened by going here..." He starts smiling. "Watch out, Skylanders Acadademy. Your new popular student is here!"

* * *

**(Music: Sky's the Limit (Opening Version))**

* * *

**Glaciers of ideas, importing**

**To my friends then exporting**

**To the next, keep it open**

**We want no closing**

**Even without doubts, our thoughts can be dope and...**

**This mind trade, no one can stop**

**An act of thinking is terrible to stop**

**We just wanna change up, not drop**

**And my crew can rock it like up - rock**

**Life is tedious, when it ain't flowing**

**Copy and paste, constant defaulting**

**Put my courage to it, begin showing off**

**That's the way we wanna live**

**Keep going, yeah**

**What was so much of transparency**

**Turning to bright expectations**

**My instinct tells me to keep**

**Going together**

**(Going together)**

**It's breathtaking moments in life**

**Addicted to it, minds craving more and more**

**I'm believing you and I can do anything**

**We can change the world**

**Hey, Sky's the Limit, we can spread wings**

**To roadless travel, together we go**

* * *

He walks down the stairs, walking to the parking lot to find his uncle. "What was his name again...? Iggy? Iguntus?" He tries to remember his name while holding the photo of him and Cynthia with his jaws. "Ignitus? Yes, that's it! His name is Ignitus!" Then, he accidentally lets the photo go out from his jaws. He looks at the photo flows away with the wind, and then it falls down on the ground. "Oh, great."

Suddenly, a violet dragoness walks to the photo and takes it with her jaws. She walks to Spyro and stares at him. "Is this yours?" The purple dragon nods. She then gives the photo back to him. He begins examining the dragoness. She looks similar to Cynthia, but there's something different with her. For example, unlike Cynthia, she's wearing a collar on her neck. It also seems that she's that silent type of girl.

"Thanks. This means a lot to me." Spyro smiles at her, making her confused.

"Why are you thanking me? All I did was just returning it back to you." She then walks away, leaving the purple dragon alone.

"Man, that girl IS interesting." He said to himself as he continues walking to the parking lot.

* * *

**To be continued (after my exam).**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey! Over here!" The purple dragon turns around to see a red elder dragon and a pink young dragoness hiding behind him.

* * *

_**Note: Elder dragons in this story walks on 2 legs.**_

* * *

Spyro runs to him and smiles widely. "Heya!" He lifts up his front right paw and uses it to shake his hand.

"Well, you are certainly more purple in person than in your photo." *Chuckle* "I'm Ignitus, and I will be taking care of you. Welcome to Skylands." He smiles warmly at the other dragon, who is already feeling welcomed.

"It's nice to meet you, uncle!" Spyro said to him. "You... Know my name, right?"

"Of course. Spyro the Dragon, how can I forget?" Ignitus replies. "Let's see... I'm your father's younger brother... And that about sums it up. You probably don't remember, but I've fed you before, and now look at you. "Then, the pink young dragoness walks forward slowly, looking shy. "This is my daughter." The red dragon looks at her. "Come on, Ember. Introduce yourself to your cousin."

The purple dragon smiles at her. "Hey there! I'm Spyro, what's your name?"

"Hey..." She answers him, whispering. "Ember..." The pink dragoness hides behind Ignitus again.

"What're you so shy for?" The red dragon laughs, making Ember angry. She smacks his butt with her tail. "O - ow." *Chuckle*

Seeing this, Spyro can't stand but laugh. "It seems that I will have fun with this happening every day."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get going. My car's over there." He points at a red car. The body is pretty similar with the other cars here. The 3 of them then walks to the car and enters it.

* * *

"I guess this is what I get when I'm too lazy to fill the car up. You should go to the bathroom by yourself, Ember." Ignitus said as he stops the car at a gas station named Moel. Then, a young man wearing the gas station's uniform approaches them as they get off the car. "Good day, sir!"

"Good day." Ignitus said to him. Ember then walks around, not knowing where to go. "Oh, um, sorry. Can you tell her where's the toilet?"

"Sure." He walks to Ember and said to her. "Looking for the toilet?" Ember nods. "It's in the back, to your left. You know which way is left? The side where you don't hold your spork in."

"I know, geez..." She rushes to the toilet angrily.

The attendant looks at Spyro. "You taking a trip?"

"No, we just went to pick him up." Ignitus said to him. "He just moved here from Avalar."

"Oh, you mean that big city? Wow, I've always wanted to go there." The attended crosses his arms.

"Oh, and please fill up my car. Regular's fine." The red dragon said.

"Right away, sir!" The attendant starts to fill the car with the gas, while Ignitus goes to the toilet entrance, waiting for Ember.

"Are you in high school?" The attendant asks Spyro, starting a conversation.

"Yep."

"Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?"

"Well, not really. At least the scenery is beautiful."

"That's only the scenery. I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part - time jobs."

"Yeah, you're probably right. By the way, I heard that this place uses currencies called yens instead of dollars, right?"

"Yep."

"Good thing I changed my money before going here..."

"Hey, I have a feeling that you would do a good job here at Moel. Give it a thought, won't you? We don't mind if you're a student." He raises his hands, offering the dragon to shake hands.

"I'll think about it." Spyro approaches him and shakes his hand.

"Oh, I should get back to work." He walks to the other side of the car. Then, Ember runs out from the bathroom with Ignitus next to her.

Strangely, Spyro starts to feel nauseous. It's as if there's something weird on his head that makes him feel like this. "Hey, are you okay?" Ignitus asks him, worried.

"Y - yeah, I'm fine... Probably car sick. I'm not used to riding cars." He answers him as he gets better. "We should go home, now."

"Already on it." They all get on the car again as Ignitus drives them home.

* * *

**Time lapse.**

* * *

"Let's eat up." The 3 of them are now sitting around a square table, with foods and drinks on top of it. Ember is holding a cup of milk on her paw and a pink - colored waffle with blueberries in front of her. Pretty interesting choice for dinner. Ignitus is having a small steak with a can of beer, a typical dinner. For Spyro, good ol' apple soda and a lamb sandwich would do it.

"Thanks for the meal." They all said in unison before they start eating up.

"Your mom and dad seems to be busy as always." The red dragon said to Spyro. "I heard that they're working overseas, right? And they want you to go to a better school... I know it's only for a year, but staying in a small place like this because of your parents? I feel sorry for you, kid."

"No, it's fine. I'm actually starting to like this place." Spyro tries to not make him feel bad.

"Well, as long as you're here, you're part of the family." Ignitus smiles again. "So make yourself at home."

"I will." He smiles back at him. All of them starts eating again. However, before Ignitus could take a bite out of his steak again, his smartphone starts ringing.

"Ugh... Who's calling at THIS hour?" He picks the smartphone and answers the call. "Ignitus speaking..." He stands up and walks away from the table. "Yes, I see... Okay... I'll be there right away." The call ends. "Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze. Sorry but I gotta go to take care of a business. You 2 should continue eating." The red dragon walks out of the house, leaving Spyro alone with Ember.

To avoid anything awkward, the dragoness turns on the TV. A weather report starts, telling them that tomorrow is going to rain. "So, uh... What does your father do?" Spyro decides that it's better to start a conversation.

"He investigates stuffs... Like crime scenes." She answers him. "My dad's a detective."

_Now for the local news report. City council secretary, Dr. Krankcase, is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female news reporter. His wife, Golden Queen, revealed to this station that she would likely pursue damages. In response, Skylands Grand Television decides to cancel all of announcer Echo's televised appearance. Until allegations of an affair with Dr. Krankcase are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye. _

"This is boring." Ember said as she changes the channel.

_At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! _

_Every day's great at your Junes!_

"Every day's great at your Junes!" The dragoness sings along to the jingle, smiling widely. This gives Spyro an idea.

"Every day's great at your Junes." He starts to sing along together with her, making her even more happier.

* * *

**Next day at school...**

* * *

"Excuse me!" A female elf raises her hand, making the homeroom teacher, Jet - Vac, look at her.

"What is it, Stealth Elf?" He answers nicely, like he always do.

"Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?" She points at the empty seat next to her.

"Well, what do you think, Spyro?" The sky baron asks him.

"Anything's okay." The purple dragon walks to the seat and sits there. "Hey, the homeroom teacher's pretty nice, you know?" He whispers to the girl, earning a smile from her.

"Yeah, he's the friendliest teacher here." She said to him.

* * *

"That's all for today, class." Jet - Vac puts his books back to his bag. "Normal lectures will start tomorrow."

They all then stand up, preparing to start a conversation with each of their own friends. Suddenly, a female voice begins talking on the school intercom.

_Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice._

"You heard the announcement, right? Please stay here. It could be something very serious." The sky baron said as he leaves the classroom.

Then, a loud police sirene mixed with an ambulance's one is heard from outside. Many students rushes to see it. Spyro, who realizes that there are too many students that it would be hard to look out too, decides to keep sitting on the seat. After all, there's a thick fog outside. One of the male students walks away from the window and approaches a female student wearing a black dress. "H - hey, Hex. I - is it true that Mrs. Echo is staying at your family's inn?"

"Sorry, but I can't discuss such things..." She answers him, making him go away. The elf, who is now known to be Stealth Elf, approaches her.

"Sheesh, how much longer is this gonna take?"

"There's no telling." The girl answers her.

"I shoulda left before the announcement came on..." The elf crosses her arms. "By the way, didtcha try to do what I told you the other day?"

"Oh... No, not yet. Sorry."

"Ah, that's okay. It's just, I heard a guy in the next class yelling something about 'The announcer Mrs. Echo is my soulmate!' and stuff."

The intercom starts talking again.

_Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers has been dispatched around the school area. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home._

And with that, the class got loud. Everyone chit chatting, asking each other what to do. Fortunately, one of the students tells them all to go home right away, calming them. "I better go too. I wonder if uncle's investigating this case." Spyro said to himself as he stand up.

"Hey, you going home by yourself?" The elf asks him as she approaches him with the other girl. "Why don't come with us?"

"Yeah, that would be nice." The dragon smiles, agreeing to go with them. "The name's Spyro. Nice to meetcha."

"I'm Stealth Elf, but you can call me Stealth." The elf introduces herself. "Nice to meet you too." She then looks at the girl next to her. "This is Hex. She's my BFF."

"It's nice to meet you, Spyro." She waves at him. "Sorry that this is so sudden."

"No, it's fine! I like to have friends here." He said to her. The 3 then starts chatting as they walk away from their seats.

Suddenly, a bandicoot with blue jeans and black shoes approaches them. "Hey, Stealth." He chuckles nervously. "The movie was awesome! Now I think I'm a fan of dragons!" He then hands over a DVD case before runming away. "Thanks! Gotta go!"

"What's wrong with him?" The elf then opens the case, revealing shattered pieces of a DVD disk. "The hell?! My Dawn of the Dragon! What've you done to my Dawn of the Dragon, you stupid bandicoot?!" She angrily smashes the DVD to the table and starts chasing him. "You think you can get away with this?!"

"Typical Stealth." Hex smiles as she sees Stealth exit the class. "She's a big fan of dragons. That's probably why she wants you to sit next to her."

"I can see that." Spyro said to her. "She seems pretty pissed off because of that broken DVD."

"OW, DAMMIT, MY NUTS!" Suddenly, the bandicoot's voice is heard, yelling in pain.

"VERY pissed off." Hex said to him.

"Well, at least now I know to not get on her bad side."


	3. Chapter 3

"Will he be fine?" Spyro asks the elf as the 3 of them walks to the school gate.

"I'm sure he'll be." Stealth tries to convince him. "Besides, that was just a good ol' nutcracker he got there. He has been worse."

"Stealth's got a point, actually." Hex said, her face looking like she wants to laugh.

After they got out of the gate, a troll with a brown vest immediately approaches Hex. "Hey there... You're... Hex, right? Let's hanh out some where, you choose the place."

"What...? W - who are you...?" The girl answers him, confused.

Then, 2 male students starts talking about them from behind. "What's up with him? What school he's from?"

"Never mind that, he's going for Hex - san? Man, you'd think he'd at least wait until she's alone to make his move..."

"I bet you a can of coke that he gets knocked out."

"No bet. Haven't you heard how hard the Hex Challenge is?" After this, they start to chat about nonsense that the purple dragon doesn't even want to know about.

"So... Would you come?" The troll starts speaking again.

"No." Hex said to him. "I don't know you."

"Fine!" He runs away, angered.

"What did he want from me...?" The girl asks herself, worried.

"He was obviously asking you out on a date." Spyro said to her. "But that's WAY too rushed, dontcha think, Stealth?"

"Yeah, it's obvious." Stealth answers him. "You seriously had no clue?" Then, the bandicoot from before approaches them.

"Yo, Hex - san. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?" He asks her, curious. "Man, you're cruel... You got me the same way last year."

"Oh, that one... Sorry." She apologizes to him.

"No problem, we're cool. I already have a real interest now, luckily. Sorry for asking you too."

"Well, WE'RE still totally not cool!" Stealth shouts at him. "You better give us some free steak to make up for it!"

"No way, man! You already busted my nuts, isn't that enough?! You could just buy it again!"

"Buy it again...? Buy it again?! Buy it again, you say?! Don't you know how much I've been through to get that DVD?!"

"I don't really ca -"

"One, I need to wake up at 3 in the morning and rush myself to the cinema to watch the prequel! Two, the prequel is only available at Artisans, which is FAR AWAY from here! Third, the movie is made by Gildas, Delbin, and Nestor! The 3 Great Artists from Artisans! You don't know how expensive the ticket is! Four, you can only buy the premium boxed set AFTER watching the prequel! Five, after buying a ticket, I need to buy the boxed set after watching the prequel! It's not any normal boxed set, it's the premium one! Dawn of the Dragon included! Six, I need to spend 3 straight hours watching the movie with nasty fan girls! You should've seen how many of their popcorns are on my jacket!" She takes a deep breath, exhausted after saying all of that. "So, which do you choose? My wrath, or free steak?"

"I..." The bandicoot raises his finger to argue, but decides to stop after thinking all that she has been through. "Guess free steak's fine."

"Great! Thanks, Crash! I'll be waiting for it tomorrow!"

"Yeah, yeah..." He walks away, leaving them.

They just realized that everyone is now staring at them. "Uh, guys... When did we become popular?" Spyro said.

"I think we should go now, Stealth." Hex said to her.

"Yeah, let's go." The 3 of them leaves the school.

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait... You're Nestor's son?! Wow, that's amazing!" The elf stares at him, surprised.

"Well, not by blood. He adopted me, and that's the story."

"But still, this makes you Nestor's son, right?! Man, I'm sooo jealous!"

Hearing the word "adopted", Hex looks at him. "Wait, adopted? What happened to your real parents, if I may ask?"

"They abandoned me." The purple dragon answers her question without hesitation. "The orphanage's owner said that he found me inside an old waterway when he was cleaning the nearby environtments."

"That's harsh! After how many days did the owner find you?" She asks another question.

"He found me just after the day they abandoned me." He said to her. "I still don't know why they would do that though... But after those times of hardships, I finally got a happy life in Avalar."

"Yeah, that's awesome." Stealth starts talking again before looking at the crop fields on her right. "There really is nothing here, huh? That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing much we can show to people from the outside." She claps her hands once. "Oh, wait! There's the Dark Hollow Inn! Hex's family runs it, it's the pride of the Skylands!"

"W - wait, Stealth." Hex said to her. "It's just an old inn."

"No way! It's been in all sort of magazines as a hidden treasure!" She replies. "It's an awesome inn! It's been going for generations, and Hex here is going to take over some day! The inn attracts many visitors to Skylands, it's probably the only thing that keeps this island going. Right, Hex?" The other girl didn't answer. "Hex...?"

"Hey... What's that?" She starts walking away from them.

"I'm coming too." Spyro follows her, with Stealth behind him.

They arrive at a place crowded with police officers and other peoples. One of them said to another. "Wow... Who could imagine THAT hanging from an antenna?"

"The police department took it down just a moment ago." The other answers here. "I still can't believe a dead body showed up around here."

"A dead body?!" The elf shouts. "An actual dead body?! Like a corpse?!"

"That's... Terrifying..." Hex crosses her arms.

A red elder dragon wearing a gray shirt with a red tie and black dress pants approaches them. "Spyro? What are you doing here?"

"Ignitus?" Spyro realizes that it's his uncle. "We were just passing by."

"You know him, Spyro?" Stealth whispers to him.

"I'm Detective Ignitus, his uncle." Ignitus introduces himself. "I hope you get along with him. And you 3 should go home right now, it's not safe yet here." He walks back to the crime scene, but soon stops when a purple elder dragon wearing a black suit and a red tie runs through him and pukes on a trash can.

"Ngh... Uuuurghhhh..."

"H - hey, you okay, Malefor?" Ignitus approaches him. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

"T - thanks... Ngh..." The purple dragon scratches the back of his head. "Sorry, I just can't stand seeing dead bodies..."

*Sigh* "You should wash your face now, we're going to start gathering more informations." He walks away, leaving them.

"Was this whay the announcement was about?" Stealth crosses her arms.

"What did they mean...? 'It was hanging from an antenna'...?" Hex asks herself.

"Hey, Hex? Why don't we go to Junes some other time?" Stealth said to her, earning a nod of agreement. "Alright, then, we're takin' off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!"

"Yeah!" Spyro grins widely. "Can't wait for it!"

* * *

...

"I wonder if dad's not coming home again tonight..." Ember said to herself as she turns on the TV. "It's always like this..."

_Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb. Around noon today, an elder dragoness was found dead near the Quiet River in Skylands. _

Spyro realizes something familiar being shown on the news. _"Wait... Is that... The school area...?" _He thought to himself.

_The deceased has been identified as Mrs. Echo, a 27 - year - old announcer at the local television station. The initial results of the Skylands Police Department's investigation have revealed..._

*Gasp* "The Skylands Police Department! That's where dad works!" The pink dragoness shouts, surprised because of this.

"It'll be alright." Spyro smiles warmly, trying to comfort her.

"I know... That's his job, so cruel things like this even happen..." She looks down, still thinking about the news' statement earlier.

_The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether is an accident or a homicide. A thick fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plans to fully canvass the area are delayed until tomorrow. _

_"The announcer, Echo..." _The purple dragon stares at the TV screen. _"Her affair with the local councilman's secretary had been on the news just the other day..."_

"They found her on the roof? That's scary..." Ember starts to feel nervous. Then, the TV's news report ends and switches to the Junes Department Store commercial. "H - hey, it's Junes!"

_At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!  
Every day's great at your Junes!  
_

Just like yesterday, Ember sings along. "Every day's great at your Junes~!" She then smiles at Spyro.

"Every day's great at your Junes~" He repeats what she sang with the same melody, making her laugh. _"I think I can get used to this, as long as it makes her happy."_

* * *

It's 10 P.M., and Ember is already sleeping. Spyro is just going to go to his room, but then something pops out in his mind. _"I wonder how's dad doing right now... I better try calling him." _He walks to the phone and starts calling his father.

"Hello?" A voice is heard from across. "Spyro? Is this you?"

"Hey, dad. Yep, it's me." He answers his question. "Just wanna know, how's work there?"

"As busy as always... How about you?"

"Mine is just fine. I even think that I'm quite popular at school now."

"Well, that's good news."

...

"Hey, I heard that you have some great friends at Avalar Academy... I know that you miss them, sorry. It's just that, you know how your mother is, right?"

"Yeah, I know..."

* * *

**Next day...**

* * *

Spyro walks to school, not feeling up as usual. Probably because of the memory of his mother. Unlike his dad, his mother is so strict that she even punishes him for just bringing 1 rock back home. She wants him to be a scientist or something similar to it, making his life quite hard and boring. That's when his father comes in. His job is to comfort him whenever he gets pressured by his mother. He is the one who inspired him to become an artist, just like him.

"If only dreams are so easy to catch..." He said to himself. "Oh, goody..." Suddenly, the bandicoot from the last day rushes through him, weirdly blindfolded. He then accidentally falls inside a garbage can.

"Whoa!" The bandicoot shouts. "Hey, can anyone give me a little help here?!" He yells for help, but every student just passes him.

_"Poor guy... He has been through a lot since yesterday... Maybe I should help him." _The dragon walks to him and gets him out of the garbage can. To make things better, he also takes off the cloth that blindfolded him.

"Free at last! Thanks! Um..." The bandicoot thanks him. "You're that transfer student, Spyro the Dragon, right? I'm Crash Bandicoot, nice to meet ya!"

"Nice to meet you too, Crash." He said to him. "Why were you blindfolded earlier?"

"Oh, that... It's just a silly challenge from my friend, and it looks like I failed it. Well, at least I'm still alive." The bandicoot said to him. "Say, did you hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna!"

"It seems to me like a total murder. No way things like that could've been an accident."

"Yeah, I agree with ya... Dangling a dead body over a roof like that? So messed up... Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place..."

"You could say that again... My scales can't handle it if this continues to happen..."

"Well, we still don't know that it'll happen again, so I say we just leave it to the police until we find a way to help."

"Good idea." Spyro looks at the school building. "Crap, I think we're late!"

"Whoa, seriously?! We better go right now!"

* * *

**Time Lapse (to after school)**

* * *

"So, getting used to this place, Spyro?" Crash approaches the dragon, who is now finished putting his books back to his handbag.

"Yeah." He answers him as he closes the bag.

"Wow, that was fast. There isn't much to do here compared to Avalar city, but there is that certain... Something that you can't get anywhere else."

"You mean like the Dark Hollow Inn, Junes, and Skylanders Academy itself?"

"Yeah, kinda like that."

"The air's clean and the food's great too."

"I agree with ya... Oh, you know about the local delicacy?"

"Let me guess... Grilled steak?"

"How'd you know?"

*Cough* *Cough* "Stealth." *Cough*

"Ha, yeah, I knew it was her. Unlike other elves, she's more of a carnivore than a herbivore."

"I know. At first I thought she loves greens and stuff..."

"And uh, how about we go to some place cheap after this? Since you helped me last time, it's all on me."

Then, Stealth Elf approaches the bandicoot. "What about me, huh? No apologies? My Dawn of the Dragon... You better not be lying about the free steak!"

*Sigh* "You always come around when I'm talking about food..."

"Hey, Hex! Wanna get some free steak?" The elf said to the other girl.

"Stealth, that'll make me so fat and my parents are going to get mad at me... Maybe later, okay?" She answers her, standing up from her seat.

"Oh, okay." The elf said to her, still smiling.

* * *

"Grilled steak, huh?" Spyro said to himself as he sits down on the seat in the food court. "So, Junes also has a food court that sells the local favorites... I thought it was only a department store."

"Well, it's better this way, right?" Stealth said to him. "I mean, I LOVE steaks! And because you're a dragon, you must've tasted many steaks before, and that's why I want you to try this one!"

"How... Could you know that?"

"Easy. Dragons can breathe out fire, that means you can really be a good help when they're doing the grilling."

"Actually, I can't... An accident happened when I was 8 - years - old, and it injured the organ inside my body that is used to breathe out fire. Now I can't do 1 easy thing that other dragons can do... But, hey, look at the bright side. I'm still good at sports."

"Oh, I see... Sorry for that."

"Yeah, it's fine. Many people thought the same thing when we first met."

Crash approaches them with a tray on his hands, 3 burritos are on top of it. He puts it on top of the table and sits down as well. "W - wait, where's the free steak?!" The elf lifts the burrito up to examine it. "This... This is... PREMIUM VEGGIE SPECIAL?! THIS IS MY WORST NIGHTMARE!"

"Sorry, gotta change my plans. Having me buying 3 grilled steaks is impossible, I don't have much money, get it?" Crash said to her. "That one's mine, you take the Meat Lover's Special."

"Well, at least I got the Meat Lover's one... I thought I was dead!" She takes the other burrito and eats it up. "But why eat in YOUR place?"

"Dude, this is not my place or anything."

"Wait, what?" The 2 turns around to face the dragon.

"Oh, I haven't told you about it yet." Crash said to him. "I moved here with my family from Wumpa City 6 months back. This location just opened up and my dad was assigned to manage it."

"I see..." Spyro takes one of the burritos, which is a normal one. A balance of meat and veggies.

"This is to welcome you here." The bandicoot takes his burrito. "Stealth, yours is on me too."

"Yeah, I know." She continues to eat her burrito.

"Crash? Crash!" A young female voice is heard from behind the bandicoot. "Crash? Have you seen my laptop?" Another bandicoot like him walks out of the department store. She has a blond hair tied to a ponytail, and is wearing a white T - shirt with a blue overall. She seems younger than Crash.

"I think it's on one of the staff room's desk." He answers him.

"Kay, thanks Crash! Sorry for interrupting!" She enters the store again, leaving them.

"Who's that? You haven't told me about her yet." Spyro asks him, curious.

"Oh, that girl? That's Coco Bandicoot, my little sister. Don't be tricked by her age, she's even smarter than me." The bandicoot grins. "But, believe me, we make a good team together."

"By the way, it has been a while since I last went to the local shopping district. Maybe because here at Junes, almost anything is available for sale." Stealth said to them, changing the topic. "A lot of stores there started closing, and... Oh, uh..."

"You can't blame it all on Junes, can't you?" Crash said to her. Then, another female bandicoot wearing the Junes uniform sits on another table, quite far from them. She has a long straight blond hair, unlike Coco. This draws Crash's attention. "Hey, it's Tawna - senpai! Sorry, BRB!" He stands up, preparing to approach the girl.

"Is she Crash's girlfriend?" Spyro asks the elf.

"Haha, he wishes." A smile starts to form on her face, thinking that what Spyro has said was funny. Crash starts walking away. "That's Tawna Bandicoot. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. I think she's working here part - time, though. And, sad story short, her big brother, Crunch Bandicoot, disappeared 4 months ago. The police has ended the search with no single clue on what could've happened to him."

"Wait... 'Disappeared'...? You mean, just poof! And gone stuff like that?"

"Yeah! I know you won't believe me, but it's real! Although Crunch - senpai is kinda rude and rough sometimes, that doesn't mean that Tawna - senpai won't miss her own brother, right?"

"You got that right..." Spyro turns his head around to look at Crash and Tawna.

"Hey, how's it goin'? You look beat." The bandicoot said to the other one.

"Heeeey. I'm finally on break." She smiles at him. "What's up, Cracchan? Boosting the family business by bringing your friends here?"

"Tawna, that hurts!" He starts joking around. "JK! You look down, is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Hey, if you need to talk, I'm always willing to listen."

*Chuckle* "I'm okay, thanks though." *Sigh* "Why'd I leave school early yesterday...?" She turns his head to look at Spyro. "Hey, is that the transfer kid?" She stands up and walks to them, with Crash following her. "Are you the transfer student? Oh, have you heard about me before?"

"Yep. Tawna Bandicoot, correct?"

"Yeah, that's correct. It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to. I don't see Cracchan hanging out with the other guys much. He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you 2 get along good."

"Well, actually -" Crash tries to speak, but Tawna cuts him.

"Cracchan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

"He's actually a great guy."

"Ahaha... I know, I'm just kidding."

"C'mon, senpai. There's no need to worry about something like that." The bandicoot said to her.

"Well, my break's just about over. Back to work I go. Laters!" She walks back to work.

"Haha, Tawna - senpai says I'm annoying, but she's WAY more nosier than me." Crash chuckles as he sits back down. "She always wants to have a little brother, so he uses me instead."

"Oh, you don't want her to be treating you like a brother, huh? Haha, I get it... So that's how it is..." Stealth smiles mischievously at the bandicoot. "The daughter of a local family - run liquor store and the scion of invading chain! Hoho, the flame of forbidden love!"

"H - hey, stop making fun of that!"

...

"Still though, what happened to Tawna - senpai's big brother...?" Hearing this, the 2 of them stops and looks at Spyro.

"Oh, you mean Crunch - senpai...? None of us knows... Rumor has it that he has been taken by the spirits of his ancestors because of being rude to others often..." Crash scratches the back of his head. "But I'm still worried about Tawna - senpai... She tries to be happy even after the disappearance of her big brother..."

The situation becomes silent. The 2 of them knows really knows Crunch, and they know that he is an important guy for Tawna.

"H - hey, let's talk about other topics." The elf said to them before pointing at a doll inside the department store. "See that doll? That is a mabu doll. Have you heard about mabus yet?"

"Mabus?"

"Oh, yeah... Only Skylands people knows them, right?" The bandicoot smiles again. "They are fictional beings with a soft brown fur that are frequently used in fanfics and children stories. Many say that they're real and they're all living somewhere here in the Skylands."

"Oh, and have you heard about the Midnight Channel, Spyro?" Stealth puts her burrito paper on the tray.

"I... Haven't, really."

"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night." She explains it to him. "While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen, and they say that person's your soulmate!"

"How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?" Crash crosses his arms.

"Childish?! You don't believe it, do you?!"

"Of course I don't."

"Well, it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out and you'll see!"

"Try it out? Wait, you haven't even tried it for yourself?"

_"Well... It looks like the 2 of them aren't such a great pair after all." _The dragon finishes eating his burrito. _"They even argue about those things..."_

"All I'm saying is, you guys better try it out tonight!"

"Sure. It could be interesting." Spyro smiles confidently.

* * *

**Tonight...**

* * *

"It's almost midnight..." Spyro said to himself as he looks at the clock. He is currently sitting on the sofa in front of the TV, waiting for midnight. He stands up and walks to the TV screen to see better.

Suddenly, the TV turns on, with many yellow statics on the screen. However, despite this, Spyro can still see the other person on the TV.

"No way..."

...

It's Tawna Bandicoot, dancing around. Her face is somehow covered by statics, unallowing Spyro to see her face. She keeps on dancing... Or is she really dancing?

**_"I am thou... Thou art I... Thou art the one who will reveal the truth..."_**

...

The TV then turns off. "Tawna... Senpai...?" He walks closer and tries to touch the screen, but weirdly, his paw gets pulled inside. "What the -?!" Before he could realize, half of his body gets sucked inside the TV. Luckily, he manages to get out of it with the support of his back legs.

"THE HELL?!"


End file.
